‘Kiev planned to abide by ceasefire only for election time’

A house damaged by recent shelling is seen in the village of Semyonovka near Slaviansk, eastern Ukraine (Reuters / Vasily Fedosenko) / Reuters

The Ukrainian authorities’ plan was to observe a ceasefire for a limited period of time, to hold parliamentary elections, while at the same time Kiev was building up troops close to the Donbass region, political commentator Alexander Nekrassov told RT.

RT:The last two months have been relatively
calm for Eastern Ukraine but now we see renewed shelling and
casualties. Does this mean the ceasefire is over?

Alexander Nekrassov: We can say that the
ceasefire is over because President Poroshenko made it very clear
that he is sending his troops there [East Ukraine], he doesn’t
really recognize any of the results of the elections there, he
doesn’t want to talk to these people. So that’s the end, the
ceasefire has ended.

RT:The recent shelling of a school
triggered condemnation from Russia and international
organizations. Are we going to see any reaction from the
West?

AN: We might see something, a mention, but we
won’t see any serious condemnation and a call for the Kiev
government to stop these attacks and the shelling, to pull back
the troops. So I don’t expect to hear much in the West about
this.

RT:It seems as if schools, hospitals and
residential buildings are the army's favorite targets. Why is it
that civilians come under Kiev's fire so often?

AN: First of all, civilians are usually the
major casualties in any war, so that is not new. Secondly, I
think the Kiev government is doing this because it doesn’t really
feel the pressure coming from the international community. If
there was strong condemnation, statements made by top
politicians, the UN, they would have been more restrained. But as
they don’t see any condemnation they just feel that they can do
whatever they want. To be honest with you, I think the whole plan
in Kiev was not to abide by this ceasefire; they were preparing
gradually to break it. They only kept it for a while when they
had their own elections so that to show that they are
peace-loving. In the meantime the troops were building up close
to Donbass, it’s not surprising really what we are seeing now.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.